Objective

The authors'goal was to estimate the lifetime and 12-month rates of major depressive episodes and dysthymia for Chinese Americans who reside in Los Angeles.

This effort, the Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study, is the first large-scale community psychiatric epidemiological study on an Asian American ethnic group that used DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive episodes and dysthymia.

Method

A multi-stage sampling design was used to select respondents for participation in the survey.

The sample included 1,747 adults, 18-65 years of age, who resided in Los Angeles County and who spoke English, Mandarin, or Cantonese.

Results

Approximately 6.9% of the respondents had experienced an episode of major depression and 5.2% had had dysthymia in their lifetime.

The 12-month rates of depressive episode and dysthymia were 3.4% and 0.9%, respectively.

The most consistent correlate of lifetime and 12-month depressive episode and dysthymia was social stress, measured by past traumatic events and recent negative life events.

Conclusions

The Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study provides a rare opportunity to investigate the heterogeneity within a single Asian American ethnic group, Chinese Americans, and to identify the subgroups among Chinese Americans who mav be most at risk for mental health problems.